‘Schooled him in every department’ – McManus and White impressed with O’Sullivan win

O’Sullivan was in cruise control at the Crucible, as raced into an 8-1 overnight lead and returned on Thursday afternoon to wrap up the win.

Bigger tests lie in wait for the world No. 1, but McManus felt it was an ideal way top kick off his quest for an eighth Crucible crown.

“It was business-like,” McManus said in the Eurosport studio. “It was his C+ game, I would give it that assessment, yet he was at 94% pot success and brushed aside one of the best young talents in the game with consummate ease.

“He schooled him in every department, Jackson had no chance and Ronnie was far from his best. But he was super-drilled in everything he did. It was a brilliant performance.”

While there was only one century from O’Sullivan, McManus was impressed with his table craft.

“Some of those shots you can’t actually describe how difficult they are,” McManus said. “But I can see how drilled he is.

“The long game was superb, he was 74% long game throughout the match out of 19 attempts.

“You can see the work has gone in on the practice table.”

White echoed McManus’ sentiments, feeling Page was beaten from the moment O’Sullivan opened up a lead.

“Once Ronnie got in front, the best front runner ever, he was never going to get beat,” White said.

White continued: “I think he is cueing very nicely, very smooth.

“He did not take any liberties even though he was 8-1 in front. He still played the right shots and his safety game looked in good shape.

“He didn’t have to do anything as he was always in control of the game.”